147th Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom)

147th Infantry Brigade
Active	1939 - 1945
Country	United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Branch	British Army Territorial Army
Type	Infantry
Size	Brigade
Part of	49th (West Riding) Infantry Division
Nickname	The Polar Bears
Engagements	World War II
Battle honours	Normandy Odon Scheldt
Insignia
Identification symbol	World War II

The 147th Infantry Brigade was an infantry brigade of the British Army, part of the Territorial Force (Territorial Army after 1920), that served in both World War I and World War II with the 49th (West Riding) Infantry Division.

First World War

The brigade was raised in 1908 upon the creation of the Territorial Force as the 2nd West Riding Brigade, part of the West Riding Division and later to become the 147th (2nd West Riding) Brigade and 49th (West Riding) Division respectively. The brigade served with the division mainly in the Great War in the trenches of the Western Front.

Formation in World War I

• 1/4th Battalion, Duke of Wellington's (West Riding Regiment)
• 1/5th Battalion, Duke of Wellington's (West Riding Regiment) (until January 1918)
• 1/6th Battalion, Duke of Wellington's (West Riding Regiment)
• 1/7th Battalion, Duke of Wellington's (West Riding Regiment)

Second World War

During the Second World War, the 147th Brigade part of the 49th (West Riding) Infantry Division, was stationed in Iceland,^[1] and adopted as its insignia the polar bear on an ice floe. In 1942 it was transferred back to the United Kingdom until June 1944, when it moved to Normandy. Its major contribution to the war was the Liberation of Arnhem and the fierce battles that led up to it. During the fighting on the Continent, the 49th Infantry Division was nicknamed the "Polar Bears" because of their divisional insignia.

Formation in World War II

• 1/5th Battalion, West Yorkshire Regiment to (to 7 September 1942)
• 1/6th Battalion, Duke of Wellington's Regiment (to 6 July 1944)
• 1/7th Battalion, Duke of Wellington's Regiment
• 11th Battalion, Royal Scots Fusiliers (from 8 September 1942)
• 1st Battalion, Leicestershire Regiment (from 6 July 1944)

References